Bakken Focus: A Growing Force In Remote Power, Midstream Water

Gravity Oilfield Services has become a force in the Bakken by helping operators overcome the challenges of remote well sites and an ever-increasing need to deal with produced water.

By Sponsored Content | May 13, 2019

ADVERTISEMENT

Gravity Oilfield Services has become a force in the Bakken by helping operators overcome the challenges of remote well sites and an ever-increasing need to deal with produced water. The energy services firm has large-scale operations in several major North American shale plays. In the Bakken, Gravity has amassed an impressive inventory of equipment and service options that help clients deal with one of the main issues throughout the Williston Basin: remote power generation.

Although a large percentage of drilling and production in the play takes place across the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, the FBIR still lacks reliable and widespread utility power. Gravity’s team has set-up three separate locations across North Dakota to help serve operators active in drilling, pumping or producing from a remote well site. The company’s inventory has helped it become a go-to service provider in the Bakken, but according to Gravity’s team, the inventory offered helps meet the unique needs of a Bakken client.

“Portable power is only a fraction of what is required. The seasonal requirements to operate power generation equipment becomes more of a factor than geography or the remoteness of locations,” Gravity said. The team has made several design changes to better handle condensate and stop equipment from freezing up. “There are many factors in keeping the equipment running during the winter months.” In addition to remote well sites, many production strategies now call for electronic submersible pumps, which increase the power needs of a well site.

Gravity’s successful longevity in the Bakken stems in part from its reliance on a skilled workforce. “Our biggest asset is our employees,” the team said. “Anyone can rent a light tower or generator, but are they there when the equipment fails like we are?” Many of the Gravity employees have worked in the Bakken for more than five years.

Equipped with a skilled team, Gravity has expanded its services in the Bakken to produced water and saltwater disposal. The company is now on a path to growing into a major water midstream entity in the Bakken and beyond. In the past year, Gravity has acquired two Bakken-based SWDs and other assets that include disposal services connected by truck and pipeline infrastructure. Gravity’s total operational capacity of water management infrastructure in the Bakken is now more than 100,000 barrels of water per day. The combination of portable power services and water midstream gathering, and disposal assets now has Gravity set up for many years to come as a trusted force capable of helping operators throughout the play overcome the challenges of geography and water.